2 Arrested in School Bus Battery Thefts in North Carolina

RANDOLPH COUNTY, N.C. — Two men here have been arrested and charged with stealing batteries from multiple school buses.

Randolph County Sheriff Robert Graves announced the two arrests in separate press releases on Tuesday.

One of the arrests stems from a chain of thefts reported on Jan. 2. The Randolph County Sheriff’s Office said that batteries were stolen from buses at four schools across the county: Tabernacle Elementary, Uwharrie Ridge Six-Twelve, Eastern Randolph High, and Uwharrie Charter Academy.

Sheriff’s deputies conducted an investigation and developed a suspect vehicle, which led to the arrest of Daniel Eli Beitzel, 31, on Jan. 5. In addition to being accused in the school bus battery thefts, Beitzel was charged with the larceny of batteries from two businesses in the Liberty and Seagrove area. He has also been charged with similar crimes by neighboring agencies, according to the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office.

Beitzel’s current charges include 16 counts of felony breaking/entering a motor vehicle, misdemeanor larceny, and misdemeanor possession of stolen goods/property. The Sheriff’s Office said that additional charges were pending.

The other arrest announced on Tuesday was tied to another incident of school bus battery theft in Randolph County — this one from three buses at Trinity High School, reported on Dec. 22.

An investigation of the Trinity High School incident led to the Jan. 9 arrest of Christopher Andrew Pauley, 31. He is charged with three counts of felony breaking/entering a motor vehicle, misdemeanor larceny, and misdemeanor possession of stolen goods/property.